Alexandra Milchan Movies

French horror director Alexandre Aja moves to dramatic territory with this Gaumont production surrounding a group of soldiers for hire who are paid to by the U.S. government to fight their wars for them. ~ Jeremy Wheeler, All Movie Guide

An ex-con from South London (Colin Farrell) tries his hand at starting over as a handyman for a young starlet (Keira Knightley) in this crime drama from The Departed's screenwriter William Monahan, who will make his directorial debut with this project. Ray Winstone, David Thewlis, and Anna Friel co-star in the GK Films production. ~ Jeremy Wheeler, All Movie Guide

The eventful life of ill-fated Catholic monarch Mary, Queen of Scots is detailed in this lavish biopic directed by John J. Curran and starring Scarlett Johansson. ~ Jason Buchanan, All Movie Guide

Kiefer Sutherland stars as an NYPD detective-turned-security guard who discovers something sinister lurking in the mirrors of a fire-damaged department store in Haute Tension writer/director Alexandre Aja's menacing study in the origins of evil. It's been just about a year since mercurial police detective Ben Carson (Sutherland) was suspended from the NYPD for the fatal shooting of an undercover officer, and ever since that fateful day he's been locked in a self-destructive spiral of anger and alcoholism. Increasingly isolated from his wife and kids, Ben spends most nights crashed-out at his sister Angela's (Amy Smart) apartment in Queens. But Ben hasn't given up hope just yet, and in order to get his life back together and prove that he's still capable of supporting his family he takes a job as the night watchman at the Mayflower department store. The Mayflower used to be a lavish symbol of inner-city prosperity, that is, until a raging inferno gutted the building while claiming numerous lives in the process. These days, the Mayflower is a scorched reminder of human misery, the ornate mirrors therein reflecting a suffering so profound that it begins to wear on Ben's already-fragile psyche. Not only that, but whatever force dwells behind the shimmering glass seems to have gained the power to alter reality as well.

After Ben gazes into the mirrors and sees a vision of himself being relentlessly tortured, he is horrified to experience violent convulsions, spontaneous bleeding, and frightening asphyxiation. And while his sister is always willing to lend a sympathetic ear, she chalks the anomalies up to an unusually potent mix of stress and anxiety. Unfortunately for Ben, his estranged wife, Amy (Paula Patton), isn't nearly as forgiving. A prosaic NYPD medical examiner who has seen her fair share of tragedy, Amy fears that Ben's erratic behavior could be placing their children in danger. Later, as Ben begins to draw connections between his increasingly gruesome visions and a former Mayflower security guard who vanished without a trace, he begins to suspect that an unimaginable evil is using the mirrors as a gateway into the real world, and that his family is in mortal danger from forces beyond their realm of understanding. Perhaps if he Ben can manage to convince Amy that their children's lives are at risk, he can summon the courage to face the greatest evil he has ever known. ~ Jason Buchanan, All Movie Guide

Wes Bentley and Winona Ryder star in director/screenwriter Geoff Haley's darkly comic romance centering on the relationship between a writer specializing in suicide notes and the unsuspecting sister of his most recent client. Evan Merck (Bentley) is a reclusive, Los Angeles-based writer whose unique way with words has earned him an unusual career as a professional suicide note scribe. One day, while attending the funeral of a dearly departed client, Evan forms a close connection with the deceased's sister Charlotte (Ryder). A free spirit who remains blissfully unaware of Evan's true connection to her late brother, Charlotte becomes fascinated by the introverted writer and the pair soon enter into a tenuous relationship. But Evan can't keep his secret from Charlotte forever, and as love continues to blossom between the unlikely pair, the writer quickly finds his snowballing deceptions growing into a rampaging avalanche that threatens to destroy not only his career, but his one true human connection as well. ~ Jason Buchanan, All Movie Guide

A darkly comic whodunit about greed, deceit, and romantic deception, Goodbye Lover stars Patricia Arquette as Sandra, a seemingly moral and obsessively cheerful woman who sells real estate and is fascinated by the movie The Sound Of Music. But Sandra has a secret; while she's married to Jake (Dermot Mulroney), an ad executive who is having problems with both his career and his drinking, she's having an affair with his brother, Ben (Don Johnson), a successful public relations man. Ben, on the other hand, is already dallying with Peggy (Mary-Louise Parker), a woman on his staff who is beautiful but insecure, though she has a darker side few people know about. When Ben decides to break it off with Sandra so he can pursue his relationship with Peggy, Sandra is furious, and, knowing Jake would be just as angry, tells him about their affair. A vengeful Jake confronts Ben, which leads to a knock-down, drag-out fight -- and Ben's death, as he falls from a window. Ben leaves behind a hefty insurance settlement, and soon the surviving characters are scrambling over the money. Enter Police Detective Rita Pompano (Ellen DeGeneres), who has seen too much in her time on the force to not develop a deep cynicism about the people she protects -- or to not be tempted to get in on the payday herself. Goodbye Lover was directed by Roland Joffé, in something of a departure from his best-known work in high-minded dramas such as The Killing Fields and The Mission. ~ Mark Deming, All Movie Guide